The invention resides in the broad field of handling polluting liquids. Such liquids consist particularly of chemicals and petroleum items, although it is applicable to any liquids having a polluting effect.
The apparatus of the invention is particularly useful in those operations where the liquids are transported by vehicles for use at a distant location. In such use, the vehicles are loaded at one location, and the liquids are carried to the distant location where a transfer of the liquids is made. This transfer may consist of applying liquid chemicals to a field, such as a golf course or a garden, and it may also include unloading the liquids into another receptacle.
Further, in such use of the apparatus, the liquids often are spilled on the ground or floor, which is incidental to their intended good use. The apparatus is operable for preventing pollution from such chemicals that are accidentally spilled.
In addition to accidentally spilling such polluting liquids, the liquids are in some cases so used that they are deliberately allowed to fall on the floor, as in rinsing and cleaning articles, and it is desired that the liquids in this case also be confined and collected to prevent pollution.
A broad object of the invention therefore is to provide apparatus and method for use in these general areas of operation so as to prevent pollution, and which include the broad steps of rinsing, reclaiming, and recycling.
More specifically, the apparatus is mainly in the form of a self-contained unit which includes a platform onto which a vehicle is driven, for loading it with the liquids for their intended use. In such loading, the liquids are accidentally spilled, in at least small amounts, and the apparatus has a means for catching all such spilled liquids, and reclaiming and recycling them. The vehicle is loaded on the platform and then transported to a field area, such as a golf course where liquid fertilizer is sprayed on the vegetation.
Another area in which the apparatus is used concerns petroleum items. Petroleum is a serious pollutant, both in the ground and in drain-off in sewers. In this case also, a vehicle is driven up onto the platform for loading, and then transported to a distant area for delivering the petroleum. In the loading step, any liquid that is spilled, is trapped by the platform, and later reclaimed. None of it is permitted to fall on the ground.
Another important feature is that the unit while normally stationary, can be moved from one location to another. In addition to the foregoing example of polluting the ground, polluting other areas also constitutes a serious situation. For example, heretofore in many instances, the polluting liquids were permitted to fall on a concrete floor, as in a rinsing or cleaning step, and such liquids ran off into the sewer, with serious contaminating effects. To prevent the pollution of the sewers, the liquids were collected from the concrete floor, so as to prevent their running into the sewer. However, this was not completely satisfactory because concrete is somewhat porous and the liquids correspondingly contaminate the concrete. Concrete floors very often crack, with open fissures running completely therethrough, and the liquids thus ran into the ground.
The apparatus can be made of any desired size to accommodate large vehicles as well as smaller items, and of various shapes to accommodate unusual space areas.
The self-contained unit includes a recirculating pump, for reclaiming the liquids that fall into a sump, and pumping them into a vehicle or other container.
Another feature is that the unit includes a storage tank so that the user may pump the liquids from the sump into the storage tank, and then at another time draining the liquids from the storage tank into a vehicle on the platform.
Still another important feature of the invention is that the platform may be used for storing containers filled with the liquids. For example, oil is often handled in drums, and brought into a service station or cleaning station, and deposited there for future use. The liquids are drawn out of the drums, or put into the drums, or both, and in this step the liquids may accidentally fall on the floor. The unit of the present invention can be used in such location, and such drums placed on the platform so that any liquids that do fall, find their way into the sump. Any such liquid, such as oil, is then recirculated and thereby recycled for further use.